CHAPTER XIV.
Such was the preparation for a supreme crisis in the life of the Kingdom.
The enormous debt left by the last reign taxed the ingenuity of the regent to its utmost.

Then it was that John Law, the Scotchman, presented his great financial scheme of making unlimited wealth out of paper, which was just what the regent needed.

The collapse came quickly, in 1720, bringing ruin to thousands, and leaving the country in more desperate need than before.
When declared of age, in 1723, a marriage was arranged for Louis with Marie Leczinska, daughter of the exiled Polish King Stanislas.

Europe at this time was agitated over the succession to the throne of Austria, as the empire was now called.

The Salic Law excluded female heirs, and the emperor, Charles VI., had died in 1718, leaving only a daughter, Maria Theresa, one year old.